HESI RN COMPASS EXIT EXAM WITH PRACTICE QUESTIONS &
VERIFIED SOLUTIONS | 2026/2027 LATEST UPDATE | ALREADY
GRADED A+
A client with leukemia is being considered for a bone marrow transplant. The healthcare team is
discussing the risks and benefits of this treatment and other possible treatments with the goal of
inflicting the least possible harm on the client. Which principle of healthcare ethics is the team
practicing?
1.) Autonomy
2.) Fidelity
3.) Justice
4.) Nonmaleficence - ANSWER 4
Rationale: Nonmaleficence is the avoidance of hurt or harm. Remember that in healthcare ethics,
ethical practice involves not only the will to do good but also the equal commitment to do no harm.
Healthcare professionals try to balance the risks and benefits of a plan of care while striving to do the
least possible harm. Justice refers to fairness and equity and ensuring fair allocation of resources,
such as nursing care for all clients. Fidelity is the keeping of promises made to clients, families, and
other healthcare professionals. Autonomy refers to a person's independence and represents an
agreement to respect another's right to determine his or her course of action.Test-Taking Strategy:
Focus on the subject - the ethical principle being utilized. Recall the definition of each item in the
options. Note the relationship of the strategic words"least possible harm" in the question and the
definition of nonmaleficence.Review: NonmaleficienceLevel of Cognitive Ability: ApplyingClient
Needs: Safe and Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process: Nursing
Process/ImplementationContent Area: Ethical/Legal Giddens Concepts: Celluar Regulation,
EthicsHESI Concepts: Advocacy/Ethical/Legal Issues, Cellular Regulation
Which action by the nurse represents the ethical principle of beneficence?
1.) The nurse upholds a client's decision to refuse chemotherapy for lung cancer.
2.) The nurse administers an immunization to a child even though it may cause discomfort.
3.) The nurse follows a plan of care designed to relieve pain in a client with cancer.
4.) The nurse provides equal amounts of care to all assigned clients on the basis of illness acuity. -
ANSWER 2
Rationale: Beneficence is taking action to help others. Although administration of a child's
immunization might cause discomfort, the benefits of protection from disease outweigh the
temporary discomfort. Fidelity is keeping promises made to clients, families, and other healthcare
professionals. Autonomy is a person's independence. Respecting another's autonomy means that
you are agreeing to respect that person's right to determine his or her course of action. Justice refers
to fairness and equity, including fair allocation of resources, such as nursing care for all clients.Test-
Taking Strategy: Focus on the subject, beneficence. Recalling that beneficence refers to taking action
,to help others will direct you to the correct option.Review: Beneficence Level of Cognitive Ability:
ApplyingClient Needs: Safe and Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process: Nursing
Process/ImplementationContent Area: Ethical/Legal Giddens Concepts: Ethics, ImmunityHESI
Concepts: Advocacy/Ethical/Legal Issues, Immunity
The nursing instructor asks a student to name an example of false imprisonment. Which situation
reflects a violation of this client right?
1.) Threatening to give a client a medication against his or her will
2.) Observing the provision of care to the client without the client's permission
3.) Performing a procedure without consent
4.) Telling the client that he or she may not leave the hospital - ANSWER 4
Rationale: Telling a client that he or she may not leave the hospital constitutes false imprisonment.
Performing a procedure without consent is an example of battery. Threatening to give a client a
medication against his or her will is assault. Invasion of privacy takes place with unreasonable
intrusion into an individual's private affairs. Observing the provision of care to a client without the
client's permission is an example of invasion of privacy.Test-Taking Strategy: Focus on the subject, an
example of false imprisonment. Note the relationship of the subject and the words in the correct
option.Review: false imprisonmentLevel of Cognitive Ability: EvaluatingClient Needs: Safe and
Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process: Teaching and LearningContent Area: Ethical/Legal
Giddens Concepts: Health Care Law, Leadership HESI Concepts: Advocacy/Ethical/Legal Issues, Health
Policy/Systems—Health Care Law
The nurse and an assistive personnel (AP) enter a client's room to provide care and find the client
lying on the floor. Which action should the nurse take first?
1.) Ask the nursing assistant to assist in getting the client back to bed
2.) Contact the unit secretary on the intercom and ask that the client's primary health care provider
be called
3.) Ask the nursing assistant to complete an incident report
4.) Check the client's level of consciousness and vital signs - ANSWER 4
Rationale: When a client sustains a fall, the nurse must first assess the client. The nurse should check
the client's level of consciousness and vital signs and look for any bruises or injuries sustained in the
fall. If the nurse determines that the client has not sustained any injuries and that it is safe to move
the client, the nurse should ask the AP to assist in getting the client into bed. The nurse should then
contact the primary health care provider and file an incident report.Test-Taking Strategy: Note the
strategic word "first." Use the steps of the nursing process to ANSWER the question. The correct
option is the only one that addresses assessment. Remember to always assess the client first if a
client sustains a fall.Review: Client who fallsLevel of Cognitive Ability: ApplyingClient Needs: Safe and
Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process: Nursing Process/ImplementationContent Area:
Delegating/Prioritizing Giddens Concepts: Mobility, SafetyHESI Concepts: Mobility, Safety
,Which action exemplifies the use of evidence-based practice in the delivery of client care?
1.) Donning sterile gloves to change an abdominal wound dressing
2.) Taking a rectal temperature from a client for whom bleeding precautions have been instituted
3.) Advising a client to agree to the treatment recommended by her primary health care provider
4.) Encouraging a client to take an herbal substance to treat his insomnia - ANSWER 1
Rationale: Evidence-based practice is an approach to client care in which the nurse integrates the
client's preferences, clinical expertise, and the best research evidence to deliver quality care.
Donning sterile gloves to change an abdominal wound dressing reflects evidence-based practice,
because it prevents the entrance of harmful bacteria into the wound. The remaining options do not
reflect evidence-based practice. Taking an herbal substance could be harmful to some clients. It is
nontherapeutic for a nurse to advise a client to agree to a treatment. Because of the risk of injury to
the rectal mucosa, rectal temperature-taking is avoided in the client for whom bleeding precautions
have been instituted.Test-Taking Strategy: Read each option carefully, focusing on the subject,
evidence-based practice. Recall the definition of evidence-based practice and note the strategic
words "sterile gloves" in the correct option.Review: evidence-based practiceLevel of Cognitive
Ability: ApplyingClient Needs: Safe and Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process: Nursing
Process/ImplementationContent Area: Leadership/Management Giddens Concepts: Evidence,
SafetyHESI Concepts: Evidence-Based Practice/Evidence, Safety
The nurse manager of a quality improvement program asks a nurse in the neurological unit to
conduct a retrospective audit. Which action should the auditing nurse plan to perform in this type of
audit?
1.) Checking the documentation written by a new nursing graduate on her assigned clients at the end
of the shift
2.) Reviewing neurological assessment checklists for all clients on the unit to ensure that these
assessments are being conducted as prescribed
3.) Obtaining the assigned medical record from the hospital's medical record room to review
documentation made during a client's hospital stay
4.) Checking the crash cart to ensure that all needed supplies are readily available should an
emergency arise - ANSWER 3
Rationale: Quality improvement, also known as performance improvement, is focused on processes
or systems that significantly contribute to client safety and effective client care outcomes. Criteria are
used to assess outcomes of care and determine the need for changes improve the quality of care. In
a retrospective, or "looking back," audit, the medical record is inspected after the client's discharge
for documentation of compliance with standards. In a concurrent, or "at the same time," audit, the
nursing staff's compliance with predetermined standards and criteria is assessed as the nurses are
providing care during the client's stay. In this type of audit, a peer review approach in which
members of the nursing staff are involved in data collection may be implemented. Obtaining the a
client's medical record from the medical record room for the purpose of reviewing documentation
made during the client's hospital stay is an example of a retrospective audit. The incorrect options
, are examples of concurrent audits.Test-Taking Strategy: Focus on the subject, a retrospective audit.
Note the relationship of the strategic word "retrospective" in the question and the description in the
correct option.Review: quality improvement and retrospective and concurrent audits Level of
Cognitive Ability: ApplyingClient Needs: Safe and Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process:
Nursing Process/PlanningContent Area: Leadership/Management Giddens Concepts: Health Care
Quality, LeadershipHESI Concepts: Collaboration/Managing Care—Leadership, Quality
Improvement/Health Care Quality
The nurse preparing a client for a bronchoscopy notes that the client is wearing a gold necklace.
What should the nurse do to safeguard the client's necklace?
1.) Ask the client to sign a release to free the hospital of responsibility if the necklace is damaged or
lost during the procedure
2.)Ask the client for permission to lock the necklace in the hospital safe
3.) Ask the client to remove the necklace and place it in the top drawer of the bedside table
4.) Ask the client whether the necklace is gold - ANSWER 2
Rationale: When a client has valuables, the nurse should give them to a family member or secure
them for safekeeping. Most health care institutions require that a client sign a release form that frees
the institution of responsibility if a valuable item (e.g., jewelry, money) is lost, but this does not
safeguard the client's necklace. Valuables may be locked in a designated location such as the
hospital's safe. Removing the necklace and putting it in a drawer does not safeguard it. Asking the
client whether the necklace is gold is inappropriate and unrelated to the subject.Test-Taking Strategy:
Focus on the subject, safeguarding the client's necklace. Focusing on the subject and noting the word
"lock" in the correct option will help you ANSWER correctly.Review: client's valuablesLevel of
Cognitive Ability: ApplyingClient Needs: Safe and Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process:
Nursing Process/ImplementationContent Area: Ethical/Legal Giddens Concepts: Ethics, Health Care
PolicyHESI Concepts: Advocacy/Ethical/Legal Issues, Health Policy/Systems—Health Care Policy
The nurse providing preoperative care to a client who is scheduled for a left mastectomy and axillary
lymph node dissection notes that the client is wearing a wedding band on her left ring finger. Which
action should the nurse take?
1.) Ask the client to sign a release to free the hospital of responsibility if the wedding band is lost
during surgery
2.) Ask the client whether she would like to remove the wedding band or wear it to surgery
3.) Explain to the client why the wedding band must be removed
4.) Tape the wedding band in place - ANSWER 3
Rationale: In most situations a wedding band may be taped in place and worn during a surgical
procedure. However, if the possibility exists that the client will experience swelling of the hand or
fingers, the wedding band should be removed. On admission to a healthcare facility, the client is
asked to sign a form that frees the agency from responsibility if a client's valuable is lost. After
mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection, the client is at risk for lymphedema, which results
VERIFIED SOLUTIONS | 2026/2027 LATEST UPDATE | ALREADY
GRADED A+
A client with leukemia is being considered for a bone marrow transplant. The healthcare team is
discussing the risks and benefits of this treatment and other possible treatments with the goal of
inflicting the least possible harm on the client. Which principle of healthcare ethics is the team
practicing?
1.) Autonomy
2.) Fidelity
3.) Justice
4.) Nonmaleficence - ANSWER 4
Rationale: Nonmaleficence is the avoidance of hurt or harm. Remember that in healthcare ethics,
ethical practice involves not only the will to do good but also the equal commitment to do no harm.
Healthcare professionals try to balance the risks and benefits of a plan of care while striving to do the
least possible harm. Justice refers to fairness and equity and ensuring fair allocation of resources,
such as nursing care for all clients. Fidelity is the keeping of promises made to clients, families, and
other healthcare professionals. Autonomy refers to a person's independence and represents an
agreement to respect another's right to determine his or her course of action.Test-Taking Strategy:
Focus on the subject - the ethical principle being utilized. Recall the definition of each item in the
options. Note the relationship of the strategic words"least possible harm" in the question and the
definition of nonmaleficence.Review: NonmaleficienceLevel of Cognitive Ability: ApplyingClient
Needs: Safe and Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process: Nursing
Process/ImplementationContent Area: Ethical/Legal Giddens Concepts: Celluar Regulation,
EthicsHESI Concepts: Advocacy/Ethical/Legal Issues, Cellular Regulation
Which action by the nurse represents the ethical principle of beneficence?
1.) The nurse upholds a client's decision to refuse chemotherapy for lung cancer.
2.) The nurse administers an immunization to a child even though it may cause discomfort.
3.) The nurse follows a plan of care designed to relieve pain in a client with cancer.
4.) The nurse provides equal amounts of care to all assigned clients on the basis of illness acuity. -
ANSWER 2
Rationale: Beneficence is taking action to help others. Although administration of a child's
immunization might cause discomfort, the benefits of protection from disease outweigh the
temporary discomfort. Fidelity is keeping promises made to clients, families, and other healthcare
professionals. Autonomy is a person's independence. Respecting another's autonomy means that
you are agreeing to respect that person's right to determine his or her course of action. Justice refers
to fairness and equity, including fair allocation of resources, such as nursing care for all clients.Test-
Taking Strategy: Focus on the subject, beneficence. Recalling that beneficence refers to taking action
,to help others will direct you to the correct option.Review: Beneficence Level of Cognitive Ability:
ApplyingClient Needs: Safe and Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process: Nursing
Process/ImplementationContent Area: Ethical/Legal Giddens Concepts: Ethics, ImmunityHESI
Concepts: Advocacy/Ethical/Legal Issues, Immunity
The nursing instructor asks a student to name an example of false imprisonment. Which situation
reflects a violation of this client right?
1.) Threatening to give a client a medication against his or her will
2.) Observing the provision of care to the client without the client's permission
3.) Performing a procedure without consent
4.) Telling the client that he or she may not leave the hospital - ANSWER 4
Rationale: Telling a client that he or she may not leave the hospital constitutes false imprisonment.
Performing a procedure without consent is an example of battery. Threatening to give a client a
medication against his or her will is assault. Invasion of privacy takes place with unreasonable
intrusion into an individual's private affairs. Observing the provision of care to a client without the
client's permission is an example of invasion of privacy.Test-Taking Strategy: Focus on the subject, an
example of false imprisonment. Note the relationship of the subject and the words in the correct
option.Review: false imprisonmentLevel of Cognitive Ability: EvaluatingClient Needs: Safe and
Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process: Teaching and LearningContent Area: Ethical/Legal
Giddens Concepts: Health Care Law, Leadership HESI Concepts: Advocacy/Ethical/Legal Issues, Health
Policy/Systems—Health Care Law
The nurse and an assistive personnel (AP) enter a client's room to provide care and find the client
lying on the floor. Which action should the nurse take first?
1.) Ask the nursing assistant to assist in getting the client back to bed
2.) Contact the unit secretary on the intercom and ask that the client's primary health care provider
be called
3.) Ask the nursing assistant to complete an incident report
4.) Check the client's level of consciousness and vital signs - ANSWER 4
Rationale: When a client sustains a fall, the nurse must first assess the client. The nurse should check
the client's level of consciousness and vital signs and look for any bruises or injuries sustained in the
fall. If the nurse determines that the client has not sustained any injuries and that it is safe to move
the client, the nurse should ask the AP to assist in getting the client into bed. The nurse should then
contact the primary health care provider and file an incident report.Test-Taking Strategy: Note the
strategic word "first." Use the steps of the nursing process to ANSWER the question. The correct
option is the only one that addresses assessment. Remember to always assess the client first if a
client sustains a fall.Review: Client who fallsLevel of Cognitive Ability: ApplyingClient Needs: Safe and
Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process: Nursing Process/ImplementationContent Area:
Delegating/Prioritizing Giddens Concepts: Mobility, SafetyHESI Concepts: Mobility, Safety
,Which action exemplifies the use of evidence-based practice in the delivery of client care?
1.) Donning sterile gloves to change an abdominal wound dressing
2.) Taking a rectal temperature from a client for whom bleeding precautions have been instituted
3.) Advising a client to agree to the treatment recommended by her primary health care provider
4.) Encouraging a client to take an herbal substance to treat his insomnia - ANSWER 1
Rationale: Evidence-based practice is an approach to client care in which the nurse integrates the
client's preferences, clinical expertise, and the best research evidence to deliver quality care.
Donning sterile gloves to change an abdominal wound dressing reflects evidence-based practice,
because it prevents the entrance of harmful bacteria into the wound. The remaining options do not
reflect evidence-based practice. Taking an herbal substance could be harmful to some clients. It is
nontherapeutic for a nurse to advise a client to agree to a treatment. Because of the risk of injury to
the rectal mucosa, rectal temperature-taking is avoided in the client for whom bleeding precautions
have been instituted.Test-Taking Strategy: Read each option carefully, focusing on the subject,
evidence-based practice. Recall the definition of evidence-based practice and note the strategic
words "sterile gloves" in the correct option.Review: evidence-based practiceLevel of Cognitive
Ability: ApplyingClient Needs: Safe and Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process: Nursing
Process/ImplementationContent Area: Leadership/Management Giddens Concepts: Evidence,
SafetyHESI Concepts: Evidence-Based Practice/Evidence, Safety
The nurse manager of a quality improvement program asks a nurse in the neurological unit to
conduct a retrospective audit. Which action should the auditing nurse plan to perform in this type of
audit?
1.) Checking the documentation written by a new nursing graduate on her assigned clients at the end
of the shift
2.) Reviewing neurological assessment checklists for all clients on the unit to ensure that these
assessments are being conducted as prescribed
3.) Obtaining the assigned medical record from the hospital's medical record room to review
documentation made during a client's hospital stay
4.) Checking the crash cart to ensure that all needed supplies are readily available should an
emergency arise - ANSWER 3
Rationale: Quality improvement, also known as performance improvement, is focused on processes
or systems that significantly contribute to client safety and effective client care outcomes. Criteria are
used to assess outcomes of care and determine the need for changes improve the quality of care. In
a retrospective, or "looking back," audit, the medical record is inspected after the client's discharge
for documentation of compliance with standards. In a concurrent, or "at the same time," audit, the
nursing staff's compliance with predetermined standards and criteria is assessed as the nurses are
providing care during the client's stay. In this type of audit, a peer review approach in which
members of the nursing staff are involved in data collection may be implemented. Obtaining the a
client's medical record from the medical record room for the purpose of reviewing documentation
made during the client's hospital stay is an example of a retrospective audit. The incorrect options
, are examples of concurrent audits.Test-Taking Strategy: Focus on the subject, a retrospective audit.
Note the relationship of the strategic word "retrospective" in the question and the description in the
correct option.Review: quality improvement and retrospective and concurrent audits Level of
Cognitive Ability: ApplyingClient Needs: Safe and Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process:
Nursing Process/PlanningContent Area: Leadership/Management Giddens Concepts: Health Care
Quality, LeadershipHESI Concepts: Collaboration/Managing Care—Leadership, Quality
Improvement/Health Care Quality
The nurse preparing a client for a bronchoscopy notes that the client is wearing a gold necklace.
What should the nurse do to safeguard the client's necklace?
1.) Ask the client to sign a release to free the hospital of responsibility if the necklace is damaged or
lost during the procedure
2.)Ask the client for permission to lock the necklace in the hospital safe
3.) Ask the client to remove the necklace and place it in the top drawer of the bedside table
4.) Ask the client whether the necklace is gold - ANSWER 2
Rationale: When a client has valuables, the nurse should give them to a family member or secure
them for safekeeping. Most health care institutions require that a client sign a release form that frees
the institution of responsibility if a valuable item (e.g., jewelry, money) is lost, but this does not
safeguard the client's necklace. Valuables may be locked in a designated location such as the
hospital's safe. Removing the necklace and putting it in a drawer does not safeguard it. Asking the
client whether the necklace is gold is inappropriate and unrelated to the subject.Test-Taking Strategy:
Focus on the subject, safeguarding the client's necklace. Focusing on the subject and noting the word
"lock" in the correct option will help you ANSWER correctly.Review: client's valuablesLevel of
Cognitive Ability: ApplyingClient Needs: Safe and Effective Care EnvironmentIntegrated Process:
Nursing Process/ImplementationContent Area: Ethical/Legal Giddens Concepts: Ethics, Health Care
PolicyHESI Concepts: Advocacy/Ethical/Legal Issues, Health Policy/Systems—Health Care Policy
The nurse providing preoperative care to a client who is scheduled for a left mastectomy and axillary
lymph node dissection notes that the client is wearing a wedding band on her left ring finger. Which
action should the nurse take?
1.) Ask the client to sign a release to free the hospital of responsibility if the wedding band is lost
during surgery
2.) Ask the client whether she would like to remove the wedding band or wear it to surgery
3.) Explain to the client why the wedding band must be removed
4.) Tape the wedding band in place - ANSWER 3
Rationale: In most situations a wedding band may be taped in place and worn during a surgical
procedure. However, if the possibility exists that the client will experience swelling of the hand or
fingers, the wedding band should be removed. On admission to a healthcare facility, the client is
asked to sign a form that frees the agency from responsibility if a client's valuable is lost. After
mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection, the client is at risk for lymphedema, which results
